At World's End
by x.AmethystCullen.x
Summary: A zombie apocalypse. The groups has to fight to survive, through flesh eating zombies, strangers trying to kill them and sadly, deaths of their loved ones. After all the death, blood and gore, can they finally find a safe place to call home? BxE RxE AxJ ExC
1. Prologue

**Hi, so this is my story, I already have most of it finished, just needs a few more chapters then it is _all_ finished. I will be posting chapters as often as possible. Please read and review and let me know what you think. No flames please, i can take constructive criticism, but i do not tolerate a-holes. Thank you, and enjoy! :) **

* * *

**Prologue**

Bella had a happy childhood. She was a good student, she got good grades. She had an amazing family, her mother, her father and her big brother. They worshipped her and treated her like a princess.

She had good friends and a loving boyfriend, she attended dance lessons and in her spare time she volunteered at the local home shelter.

She was a good girl.

It was on her sixteenth birthday when she first heard the news. A virus had gone global, people everywhere were dying. It had come out overnight and everybody was in trouble.

It wasn't until two days later when it hit the news that the dead had begun to come back, only they weren't exactly human, they were what everybody would call Zombies.

Bella and her family quickly made arrangements to hide, to get out of the way , but too soon did it hit their town. Everybody they knew was dead, or dying.

It was the end of the world.

It's not easy to survive in the new world, though the rules are pretty simple.

1\. Don't trust ANYBODY.

2\. Don't stay in one place for too long.

3\. Find food and water. Canned and bottled only. (It needs to last.)

4\. Pack light. You need to be able to move easily.

5\. DON'T GET BIT.

And lastly,

6\. RUN.

* * *

"Bella, wake up. Please, wake up!"

Bella opened her eyes to find a frazzled Alice at her side.

Alice was a petite girl, smaller than Bella, which was surprising. She was a year older than Bella, who was now eighteen. Her short black hair suited her up and down attitude. Alice was very unpredictable.

"What's wro-" She was cut off by Alice'a hand covering her mouth.

"Shh!" Alice hissed. She gestured with her hand for Bella to get up and follow her, which she did, to the window.

"Shit." Bella whispered as she watched all of the Biters crowding up around the door to the abandoned building Bella's group was hiding in.

Bella moved across the room quickly, kneeling down and shaking Emmett to wake him up.

"Gerroff me!" He yelled.

"Shh!" Bella hissed.

Emmett was a big, grumpy teddy bear. He was moody most of the time, but he was strong, and very protective. He looked after Bella, ever since he found her. He was seven years older than her, and he was the oldest of their small group, he was also their sort of leader.

"Biters, Em, loads of 'em!" She whispered.

He sat up, still half asleep and rubbed his eyes.

"How many?"

"At least thirty." She told him honestly.

"Shit!" He huffed. He rushed over to the window and frowned. "Who was the last one in?"

Bella looked over at Garrett, another member of their group. He was mostly careless and clumsy, but she loved him like he was her brother. He was twenty two and quite the childish comedian.

"Of course it was him." Jasper muttered.

Jasper was the final member of their group. He was twenty four and he was very apathetic. He always knew what others were feeling. It freaked Bella out sometimes, but they got along well. He was also sleeping with Alice, but they weren't ready to tell anybody yet, and nobody had the heart to tell them that everyone knew. They suck at secrets.

Emmett woke Garett up with a kick to his stomach.

"Did you barricade the door?" He asked him menacingly.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Garett heaved, clutching his stomach.

"The door, last one in blocks the door with a weapon. Everytime you forget, did you barricade the door?"

Garetts face went pale and he looked down at his shoes.

"Damn it!" Emmett swore and began pacing the room.

"We're gonna die." Alice began to sob.

She was quite a strong girl, she was scary as hell sometimes, but her worst fear were the Biters. She was deathly scared of them and Bella sometimes found it annoying. She knew Alice couldn't control her fear, damn, Bella was scared all the time, they were never safe, wherever they were, but Alice was about to go into a complete panic attack.

"We're not going to die, Al." Bella told her, and then moved to the empty wardrobe that had been left abandoned in the house, and pushed it across the floor. Jasper quickly picked up on what she was doing and helped.

They blocked the door with whatever they could and then they sat silently, well almost silently, Alice was still crying and sniffling, and they listened to the moaning and groaning outside of the room.

"How long will they stay for?" Alice whispered.

"It depends." Garett said. "They could stay idle in here for days, weeks even."

Bella elbowed him and glared.

"Unless they are distracted, then they could leave anytime." He quickly added.

He was no help in a crisis.

They left the abandoned building, by climbing out of the window.

They walked for hours, and thankfully they didn't run into many Biters. Bella walked alongside Garett, who was near panting.

"Can you drive?" He asked her. She shrugged.

"I did my lessons, but by the time my test came, my instructor was dead, so…" He nodded in understanding.

"I never learned." He told her in a gloomy voice. "I figured I had all the time in the world to learn, but then this happened, and now I never will."

Bella had learnt not to comment on peoples sob stories. It was heartless and it was mean, but she had her own story to concentrate on, and she couldn't afford to feel sorry for others.

"We could go, you know. Me and you." He said, eyeing a red car across the street. "I don't think they would have taken their keys."

Bella shook her head.

"We're safer in groups. Besides, this is our family. We don't leave. We stick together." She told him, chastising.

"Bell-"

"Im not going to leave them, so if you want to go, go. Im staying." She glared at him and stopped walking, which drew the attention of the others.

"I coulda made you happy, Bell." He said sadly, before turning away from her and walking away. Her face fell and tears filled her eyes.

"Where are you going?" She asked, hoping he would come back.

"Im moving on. Im gonna find somewhere safe." He told her without looking back.

Bella watched in horror as three walkers came out of nowhere and attacked him. She ran forward and gripped her machete tight. She cut off one of the heads, and the brought her knife down on the others skull. Emmett killed the last one before it had a chance to get a bite out of Bella.

Looking down at Garett who was now lying on the ground, made Bella feel ill. She turned away and vomited on the ground. Tears burned her eyes and her mind was going into overdrive. She had seen this too often.

The three Biters had managed to open up Garett's stomach and pull out his insides.

Alice was sobbing uncontrollably, Jasper was trying to calm her down and Emmett was doing the same as Bella; staring at the body blankly.

 _No time to grieve._ She told herself. _Not yet._

* * *

 ** _Thank you for reading, let me know what you think :)_**


	2. Chapter 1

**Here's my first official chapter. Let me know what you think :)**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1.**

The four of them walked for miles, only stopping when they absolutely needed to. Bella's feet were aching so much she wished she could just sit down and cry.

There were no words between them. Each of them remained quiet, silently blaming themselves for their friend's death.

 _I should have gone with him._

A thought that kept coming back to Bella.

The sun began to go down, and Alice voiced her fear of walking on the highway in the dark. The entire highway was rammed with cars, they could barely see ahead as it was.

Thankfully Emmett found a small campervan, which was more than enough for the four of them.

Emmett and Bella gave it a quick once over, and when it was deemed safe, Alice and Jasper clambered in, instantly looking in the cupboards and drawers. Alice let out a small cry of victory causing the others to glare at her.

"What?" She said, flippantly a she pulled out six boxes of breakfast bars. "We've hit the jackpot!"

"Yes!" Emmett laughed and scooped the small, pixie like girl, into a huge bear crushing hug.

"And we have water bottles back here." Jasper added, seemingly content.

"That will see us through the next few days." Bella murmured and then found her place on the couch, before closing her eyes.

The night was long and quiet. Nobody really had anything to say, and Bella didn't particularly _want_ anybody to speak to her.

It took a while for her to fall asleep, and as soon as she managed, she was being shook violently. Her eyes flew open and as she went to vocalise her surprise, a big hand covered her mouth. She fought her assailant, but when he held her still and made her look at him, she saw that it was just Emmett and she calmed down, instantly.

"Biters." He mouthed and pointed at the windows.

She looked, carefully, to see how many were out there. Too many to count. She looked back at Emmett and he gestured for her to get low to the ground. Doing as he asked, she knelt down and laid on her stomach, right next to him.

"Alice?" She whispered. She was worried for her best friend, she knew that she would be terrified right now.

"Jasper is keeping her calm."

Bella nodded and closed her eyes tight, wishing that all of this would just go away.

She wanted to wake up in her bed, and this have all been a bad dream, that she could shake off with a morning coffee and a run. But she wasn't dreaming. She couldn't go for a run, and coffee was a no chance kinda thing. She could boil her water over a fire and pour one of her Latte sachets into a plastic cup, but her Lattes weren't quite as good as proper coffee.

She knew there were things her friends missed too, it was the silly little things that you wouldn't think you would miss, like singing, or talking on the phone, or even walking down the street without a CurbCrawler snapping at your heels.

It wasn't easy giving up everything, or at least it shouldn't be. Bella found it too easy to walk away from her home after her parents and her brother had succumbed to the Virus that turned people into flesh eating monsters. She didn't even look back, not once.

 _I don't even have a home anymore._ She thought bitterly to herself. She was a nomad. Travelling from one place to another, never stopping. They hadn't even tried to fine any sanctuaries. Emmett said most of them were already overrun. Jasper said that the sanctuaries are just full of crazy people fighting for power and making bad decision that end up getting everyone killed.

 _Garett said Sanctuaries were a place for hope and safety._

She shut that thought out of her head and opened her eyes. She could see out of the windows of the campervan from down on the ground. Biters were just walking past, bleeding and rotting.

 _This is our world now._

* * *

Bella woke up to silence. No growling, no hissing and no talking. She sat up slowly, trying to ease the aches in her back and her neck, sleeping in the ground is just as uncomfortable as it sounds. She exited the campervan to see her three friends smiling at each other and talking animatedly.

"Oh you're up!" Alice cried, clapping her hands. "Emmett found a tent and some other camping supplies, so we're gonna go in the forest!"

Bella was actually surprised Alice was happy about this, she expected her to hate camping.

"Okay, but you know it's scarier in there," She pointed at the forest that was running along the side of the highway. "than it is out here, right?"

"Don't be silly, besides, why would Biters go into the forest anyway, there aren't many people out there." She said, as a matter of fact.

"Al, they just wander around, waiting for food. Something makes a noise, they follow the noise. They don't actually think for themselves, they are everywhere. Including the forest."

"Bella, c'mon! Why you gotta freak her out for, huh?" Emmett asked, shaking his head.

Bella pouted for a few seconds before she realised that she was actually in a pretty bad mood. She sat down beside Alice and muttered a quick 'sorry' before eating a breakfast bar.

They didn't stay still for long, after breakfast they grabbed their bags, and the other stuff Emmett and Jasper had looted from the abandoned cars, and made their way into the forest.

It was eerily quiet in the forest, there were no birds chirping, no wind for the trees to rustle; the only sounds were the group's feet as they walked. Bella thought idly that they should have taken a car, at least they would be able to sit down whilst travelling.

Emmett walked at her side, holding her hand and occasionally squeezing it to reassure her that he was still there. He had always done it, ever since he had found her.

She was alone back then, it was a year and a half ago, her parents and brother had died six months before, so she had travelled alone for all that time. She slept in abandoned cars, buildings, one time she'd had to sleep in the boot of someone's car, after being surrounded by Biters.

The night Emmett and the others found her, she had run out of food and had nothing to drink; she had gone into a store that had been looted and destroyed. She was too dehydrated to remember that she needed to do all the checks before finding some food or water, so she just went straight into the store.

The whole place was full of Biters and she found herself cornered, she had her knife and was stabbing and slashing, but it seemed that there was too many of them for her to fight. She was so close to dropping her machete and letting them finish the job, but then she heard someone yell.

That voice was the best sound she had heard in all of her life.

In no time, the Biters had been put down and she was given food and water. She didn't speak for days, nor did she stray from her giant stranger's side, but she did feel a lot safer than she had in a long while.

* * *

"There are fresh tracks here." Emmett observed as they stopped to hydrate.

"What kind of tracks?" Alice asked warily.

"Cars, I think." He answered, getting closer to the ground to inspect.

"There are other people? Near here?" She was beginning to get excited, and Bella didn't want her to get her hopes up. Chances are, these people are gone or insane.

Bella checked out the tracks too, but she had no idea how Emmett could tell that they were fresh.

"We should follow them." Emmett said, squinting up at Bella, trying to keep the sun out of his eyes. If she hadn't heard the hope in his voice, she would have shot him down, but it was rare that Emmett asked for something.

 _I can do this for him._ She thought to herself as she nodded. He grinned, which made her smile, and then he called for Alice and Jasper to keep up as he began to lead the way.

It didn't take them long, maybe twenty minutes, to find the vehicles, which turned out to be three RV's, two cars and a campervan.

They were all parked around a small meadow, creating a sort of circle for their camp. And it really looked like a camp. Two tents were up, a homemade washing line had been put up, with clothes drying on it, there was even a small camp fire with pans and a bowl of water full of what seemed like washing up liquid. Bella thought she had found heaven, but she was still on edge about meeting the people who own the big vehicles and the pretty camp.

"Don't move!" A man yelled. Bella heard him cock his gun and she raised her hands, allowing them to see that she wasn't carrying a gun. The others quickly did the same, and Bella couldn't help but wonder if they were all scared to death too.

"What do you want?"

"We saw your tracks." Emmett began. "We just wanted to see if there were more survivors."

"We don't want to hurt anybody." Alice said, in her tiny voice, which earned a laugh from the blonde man with the gun.

"What's your name, Tinkerbell?" He smirked.

"Alice." She replied, trying not to glare at him.

"Well, Alice, we don't take in no strays." He shrugged his shoulders and gestured for them to 'shoo'.

"James, what on earth are you doing?" Another man said. When he came out of his RV, Bella's shoulders relaxed a little. He wasn't old, he looked to be in his forties, his hair was blonde and his facial features were soft. This was a kind man.

"We can't just take them in, we don't know if they have been bitten or not!" James huffed.

The blonde man turned his head to them and looked them over before asking them 'Have you been bitten?'

"No." Bella said boldly.

"Now we know." He said smugly to James.

Within a few seconds, the small camp was full with people. There was eighteen of them all together. Ten men, six women and two children, both girls.

"What is this?" One of the men asked, and when Bella saw him, she had to stop her jaw from dropping.

 _He is gorgeous._

He was tall, and built, not as big as Emmett, but he was very toned. His hair was a sort of copper toned brown. His face was perfect.

 _Focus._ She told herself, internally rolling her eyes.

"We have guests, Edward." The blonde man said. "Be nice."

 _Nice name._

"I'm always nice, don't listen to him." Edward said with a friendly smile, lifting his hand to shake Emmett's. "I'm Edward. Obviously."

"Emmett." He replied bluntly. Bella rolled her eyes, trust him to want to be here, and then be moody when he gets what he wants.

"I'm Alice." Alice pulled Jaspers arm and stood before Edward. "And this is Jasper! It's so lovely to meet people who aren't trying to rip me to shreds." She engulfed Edward in a hug and he laughed nervously, awkwardly patting her on her back.

"Ali, don't freak him out." Bella said, and then bit her tongue. She hadn't wanted to draw attention to herself, having a group of people staring at her was enough attention, thank you very much.

"And you are?" Edward asked, when Alice finally let him go.

"I'm awkward. I mean Bella! My name is Bella." She said quickly.

 _Way to go, now he knows you're an antisocial freak._

Edward chuckled and shook her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." He smiled and she wanted to freeze that moment forever.

"You too." She replied. _Just keep it at two syllables and you can't go wrong._ She told herself.

"Here," A soft voice said. Bella spun around to see a beautiful woman holding a flask. "We boiled some water and made coffee. Black, obviously, but I thought you could use some."

"Thank you." Bella rushed out. She didn't want to seem too eager to accept the drink, but she took it from the woman and sipped at it instantly. The woman smiled pleasantly, and Bella sort of smiled back.

"I'm Esme Platt." She said, holding out her hand, which Bella took.

"Bella Swan."

"It's so nice to meet you. It's always lovely to know that there are other survivors out there."

"I'm not sure there are many left," Alice said, bouncing up to Esme. "I'm Alice Brandon."

It was sometimes surprising for Bella to see how Alice's confidence came and went.

Over the next ten minutes, the group had been introduced to Angela Cheney and her daughter, Olivia. They seemed nice, aside from the stony face Angela seemed to have on her face. Jessica and Mike, best friends from Ohio, introduced themselves, Jess, as she insisted, seemed rather bouncy, but Bella took an instant liking to the two of them. Jess pointed out the others, but Bella was too tired and numb to listed, but Alice, thankfully, kept them talking. Bella decided she would thank her later.

A loud bang shot out making everyone jump. Edward glared up at James, who had the nerve to look sheepish.

"I thought I saw a Roamer man!" He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"C'mon, lets pack up, Roamers will be all over the camp any time now. Let's go!" Edward yelled and began to pick up what Bella assumed to be his belongings. "I have room for one of you with me, Alec has room for one of you with him," He pointed at a sandy blonde haired man who was almost as good looking as Edward. "And Jacob has room for two of you." A black haired and dark skinned man grinned happily and gestured for two of them to join him in his RV.

"I wanna stay with Jasper." Alice said with a pout.

"Of course you do." Emmett muttered and looked at Bella with a sorry expression.

"It's cool. I'll be fine." She told him, waving him off.

"You sure?" He pushed, and she laughed and gave him a big hug.

"I promise, im fine."

He nodded and kissed her cheek before going over to Alec. Bella almost yelled at him to switch with her, she didn't want to go with Edward, but she also didn't want to embarrass herself either; so with a heavy heart, Bella followed Edward into his RV.

"Looks like it's just you and me." He said, smiling at her. She sat in the passenger seat and looking out of the window as he began to drive.

The drive was mostly silent, Edward figured that Bella didn't like to talk much, but then realised he was wrong when she struck up a conversation.

"Why doesn't anybody else ride in here with you?" She asked. _Are you a freak?_ She asked mentally.

"They do, sometimes, but most of the time they like to travel in the cars. Mike and Jess always sleep in here though." He told her and then bit his lip.

"What?" She asked warily, sensing something was wrong.

"Well, Jess and Mike sleep on the pull out together. I mean I'm sure Jess won't mind, but-"

"What is the problem?" She cut him off.

"I don't trust the tents. Some of the group sleep in them and we have spares, but I wouldn't want to put you in one alone. If you stay in here, you would have to share a bed." He rushed out. "Not that I want you to share a bed with me, specifically, but it is a better alternative than getting eaten in your sleep."

Bella watched the man in amusement. He continued to ramble for a while before she had the never to interrupt him again.

"I don't mind sharing a bed with you." She smiled. "I have shared a bed with a guy more times than I can count." She told him. His eyes widened and she choked out a laugh. "Not like that!"

"Right, sorry." He chuckled, shaking his head.

"How old are you?" She asked.

"Thirty two, you?" Wow, he sure doesn't look thirty two.

"Eighteen." She said almost sadly. "Do you have a life? Or a girlfriend?"

"I used to." Her face twisted into sorrow and she felt instantly bad.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realise. I mean, you'd think I would considering these things kill everybody and there's no one left-"

"She's not dead." He interrupted, smiling at her. "Well, at least she wasn't. We got divorced just before all of this broke out."

"Oh. Good." Bella breathed out in relief.

Edward shook his head again, silently laughing. He liked the girl. She was funny.

* * *

 _ **Thanks for reading, next update will be later tonight or tomorrow :)**_


	3. Chapter 2

**Hope you guys enjoyed the last two chapters, here's an update! :)**

 **Here are the families and where they stay/travel, so nobody is confused.**

 **Kings – Rosalie 23, Royce 32 and Daisy 8.** **Sleep in campervan.**

 **Cheney's – Ben 28, Angela 28 and Olivia 7.** **Sleep in a tent – travel in car.**

 **Cullens – Edward 32, Carlisle 55, Alec 30.** **Alec and Carlisle sleep in one RV, Edward in the other.**

 **Platt's – Lena 20, Esme 38.** **Travel in car – sleep in Carlisle's RV.**

 **Hunter's – James 24, Victoria 23.** **Sleep in tent, travel by Cheney's car.**

 **Blacks – Jacob 26, Eric 24 and Tyler 24.** **All share one RV.**

 **Emmett McCarthy – 25** **travels with Alec and Carlisle, sleeps on floor of RV.**

 **Bella Swan – 18** **Shares Edwards RV.**

 **Alice Brandon – 19** **In the Black's RV.**

 **Jasper Whitlock – 24 In the Black's RV.**

 **Mike Newton – 22** **Travel in Esme's car, sleep in Edwards RV.**

 **Jessica Stanley – 22** **Travel in Esme's car, sleep in Edwards RV.**

 **Sadly I do not own the majority of these characters.**

* * *

Days passed, and then weeks. Bella and her group had fit right in with Edward's group everybody got along for the most part. Rosalie, a member of the group, didn't seem to like Bella all that much. There was constantly an awkward atmosphere with Victoria and James, Angela was super lovely, but she suddenly turned cold and judgemental whenever her husband was around her.

Alice and Jasper made quick friends with Jessica and Michael, and Emmett was very fond of Alec and Carlisle, he said it was like having brothers again; Although Carlisle was actually Edward's and Alec's father, not their brother.

Bella and Edward had formed a strange kind of friendship; they didn't speak to each other much, but they always seemed to be next to each other. When they did speak, they only spoke of their childhoods and their favourite things. They didn't know the ins and outs of each other's traumas.

Bella was happier and felt safer now that they were in a bigger group, but she did fear for the two young girls, Olivia and Daisy. They were so young, and the others always seemed so distracted, that whenever they went on hunts or runs, Bella found herself in more danger for constantly watching the girls and not taking in her surroundings.

"We need to find a safe haven." Jacob Black said. He was a nice guy, Bella thought. A bit of a cocky jerk, but she supposed all guys were. He was a good asset to the group.

"There is supposedly a centre down in Alaska." Emmett said, looking at the map that was splayed out over the hood of the car.

"That's where we were planning on going, later. Mike says he has some family a hundred miles away." Edward spoke softly, frowning at the map.

"Washington?" Bella asked, and Mike nodded, causing Bella to shift from foot to foot and bite her lip.

"What is it?" He asked her forcefully.

"Nothing, I just… I had an uncle, who lived in a small town called Forks. We were going to look for him, but someone at home said that Washington was already gone." He nodded and sighed.

"I was born in Forks, moved down to Ohio with my mom when I was ten, my father still lives there." He told her. "Who was your uncle?"

"Um, Charlie Swan… He was-"

"The Chief of Police." He smirked. "He was a hard ball, that one."

"He was." Bella managed. She suddenly felt somewhat closer to Mike, knowing that he knew her uncle made her strangely emotional.

"We'll look for him too, okay?" She nodded with a small smile, and he patted her shoulder in comfort.

"Forks it is." Edward decided, picking up the map and folding it.

"Are you serious?" Royce asked, glaring at Bella. "You let some stranger come in and make the decisions for _our_ group?"

"Royce, she didn't make the decision, I did. If you don't like it, you don't have to come with us." Edward said sternly and to the point, leaving no room for arguments, and then he walked away.

"You are poisonous. I don't trust you. You should be with the women, not out here making decisions that you have no right to make." Royce said in a low voice so that only Bella could hear him.

"I don't particularly trust you either, Princess. Oh, and don't get me confused with your wife, King. I can do whatever I want, _you_ have no _right_ to tell me where I am _supposed_ to be. " She said in her normal voice, glaring at him.

"You had better watch your smart mouth, little girl." He warned her. "Someone might come along and put you in your place."

"Bella, let's go." Edward called, watching her with concern.

"I dare you." She spat at Royce before turning and walking over to Edward.

* * *

"So when did you become appointed Leader?" Bella asked Edward when they had gotten back on the road.

"Well it started out with just Mike and I. We travelled for about three months before he found Jess. Then it was just the three of us for a while until the King's and the Cheney's showed up. I wasn't, as you say _appointed,_ but Royce is a dick and Ben has twisted his religion into something hateful, he would have been a danger to the group."

"What do you mean?" She asked, curious as how one could twist their religion.

"He has himself convinced that we have to allow the Biter's to come to us. If they kill us, its supposed to be, if they don't, you are forgiven. Anyway, he just isn't stable enough to lead a group of people."

"Right." She murmured in agreement.

They sat in silence for a few short moments, and Bella could feel Edward giving her concerned glances, and the final time, she caught him and huffed.

"What is it?" She asked.

"You should be more careful around Royce, Bella." He said.

"Why, because he is a sexist pig?" She asked, exasperated. "I will not allow him to speak to me like trash and threaten me, just because he was born with a dick between his legs."

Edward had to fight a grin at her foul language.

"He threatened you?" He pushed, frowning at the road.

"Don't worry about it, if I can live in a world where most of the population is a bunch of dead folk, hanging around and eating people, I think I can handle one non dead guy with a superiority complex." She told him with a reassuring smile.

"I know you can take care of myself, I just don't want you getting hurt." He ran his hand through his hair.

"We live in a world where the dead outnumber the living, Edward." She said, sadly. "One day I'm going to be too slow and I am going to get bit, or torn apart. Royce's hands are the least of my worries."

"I won't let that happen to you." He swore, swallowing thickly and staring straight ahead. Bella gave him a small smile, even though he didn't see it, and then she looked out at the road too.

 _Why is he so perfect?_

* * *

They drove for six hours before stopping for the night. Everyone was around the small fire that Jasper had started. Bella was sitting on the ground next to Alice, who had been eerily quiet.

"Are you okay, Al?" Bella asked her, eyeing her with a frown.

"I think Jasper has feelings for Lena." She whispered.

Bella almost rolled her eyes. Lena was Esme's niece, twenty years old and very beautiful, but Bella didn't understand how people could be worried about such mundane things in the middle of an apocalypse.

"I'm sure he doesn't." She told her best friend. "We are all meeting new people. We have to try and get along. Besides, Jasper only has eyes for you."

"I don't think so," She murmured, her chin resting on her knees. "Maybe he just felt for me, because I was there, and he didn't think he was ever gonna meet another woman."

"Alice, Jasper loves you." She said in a vain attempt to comfort her.

"You really think so?"

"I do."

Alice smiled at that, and then sighed.

"I like it here, with these people. I know we are never safe, but I feel it when we are driving. And when they lock up the RV, I actually sleep."

"That's great Alice." Bella said honestly.

"What about you, how are you liking it?"

"It's better than what he had." She shrugged.

"Are you okay, after Garret?"

 _Garret._

 _Poor Garret._

Alice's question took her by surprise. Her chest tightened and she closed her eyes tight for a few seconds.

 _Not now. Not here._

"I'm okay." She whispered.

Alice didn't look convinced, but she remained silent, watching the rest of the group interact, by her best friends side.

Emmett and Jasper sat with the Cullen's, laughing and joking, quietly. Alec was making funny gestures to emphasise his story, and Edward had his head thrown back in laughter. Mike and Jess were sat side by side, in complete silence, stealing odd glances of each other. Bella could feel their sexual tension from across the fire.

The King's sat outside of their campervan, each on a deck chair. Poor Daisy kept eying the fire with longing, but Bella knew better than to invite her over. Royce was angry enough at her as it was, she didn't want him to take any of that out on his daughter. Rosalie watched her daughter sadly, the whole camp knew that she was afraid of her husband, but there was nothing they could do, unless she asked for help.

Angela Cheney had just finished the dishes and was now sorting through her family's clothes. Her husband had already gone to bed, and her daughter was sat quietly next to Lena, who was staring over at the Cullen's, Emmett and Jasper.

James and Victoria had disappeared into the forest about an hour ago; Bella didn't even want to think about what they were doing.

"You want to gossip like teenagers?" Alice asked Bella, practically bouncing off the ground.

 _Someone has cheered up._

"Sure, Al." Bella agreed. "You do realise that we are still teenagers, right?"

"I know. So, Jacob… Right?" She giggled suggestively.

"Alice, you were just worried about Jasper liking another chick." Bella laughed.

"This is different, I just think Jacob is very nice to look at."

"He isn't bad." She said, but her eyes were on the Cullen's.

"But you prefer them?" Alice looked over at the Cullen's and grinned. "Not that I blame you. They are all super hot. But I prefer to look at men less scary."

"Scary?" Bella asked, confused?

"The whole group follows Edward, not his father. It makes you wonder what he can really do." She shivered.

"Al, the guy is super nice, you know that. Besides, if you want to worry about someone, you should worry about Royce or James." She felt bad for saying it, but Edward had become a close friend and Alice's worry was completely misdirected.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Who would you want to lead, Alice, Mr-We're-All-Being-Punished, or Royce I-Hate-Women King?"

She asked bitterly.

"Neither, I suppose. I guess I'm just finding it hard to trust. I feel safe, but I am still kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop."

"It's good that you don't trust, people are going crazy out here. Not that I blame them." Bella sighed and stood up, dusting off her clothes before looking down at Alice. "I'm beat, I'm gonna hit the sack."

"Okay, night Bells."

A wolf whistle sounded from the direction of the Cullen's, she turned back to see all five men grinning cheekily at her.

"You not gonna say night to me, B?" Emmett asked with a fake pet lip. Bella liked seeing playful Emmett, it wasn't often he was in the mood to play.

She walked over to them with a smile. When she reached him, she bent down to kiss his cheek, but he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her onto his lap.

"Are you okay?" he whispered into her neck.

She nodded and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She loved Emmett, he was always looking after her, even when he didn't need to. She yawned and he shifted her in his lap so she was laid across him. She buried her head in his neck and sighed. Her eyes drifted closed and the last thing she heard was Alec telling Emmett that he was a lucky bastard.

A scream woke her, and she opened her eyes to find Edward at her side, shaking her, his eyes frantic.

"C'mon sweetheart, time to move." He pulled her up and began to drag her over to their RV. She was still asleep, she couldn't grasp what was going on. Everyone was running around, screaming and shouting.

"Edward, what-"

"Just move." He yelled at her. He pulled out his gun and shot someone in the head. That was when Bella woke up.

"Biters. Shit!" She yelled, looking around the camp. She realised there were too many to fight; she pulled her gun out of her boot and shot one right in the eye.

"Bella, we gotta move, there's too many!" Edward grabbed her hand and pulled her to him, but her eyes roamed the camp site. She saw Emmett fighting, using a baseball bat to hit them across the heads with. Jasper was next to him with an axe. Bella searched for Alice, but she couldn't see her.

"Edward!" Bella screamed and pulled out of his grasp. He looked and his eyes widened.

Daisy was standing alone, crying in the middle of the camp site.

Bella shot as many Biters as she could as she ran across to the girl, Edward hot on her heels.

"Daisy!" Rosalie screamed when a Biter grabbed her daughter from behind.

"I can't get a clear shot!" She cried, there was no way she would reach her in time.

"Just do it!" Edward yelled at her, he had run out of bullets.

"Mommy!" Daisy sobbed when the Biter bit into her hand.

It all seemed to happen in slow motion. Emmett appeared next to her, smashing the Biter in the head, killing it. Then he grabbed the girls arm, Alec then grasped his machete out of its sheathe and brought it down, effectively cutting off the girls lower arm. Daisy screamed in agony, but Royce had pulled Rosalie into the campervan, so the poor girl was alone.

Emmett picked her up and ran toward Edward and Bella, tears streaming down his face, Alec in the same state.

"We're gonna need you, Bell!" He said. The four of them made their way to Carlisle's RV with Daisy.

Entering the vehicle, Carlisle quickly shut the doors. Bella took another quick look around the camp site, to see Jacob holding Alice, who was sobbing into his shoulder, then Jasper was there. She threw herself into Jaspers arms, and the three of them made their way into Jacob's RV.

"B, c'mon!"

"We need to get out of this clearing!" Edward growled.

"Put her down here." Carlisle said to Emmett, who sat Daisy down on the bed. She looked like she was in shock.

"I just fucking cut a kids hand off." Alec swore to himself, before looking up at everyone. "I JUST CUT A KIDS FUCKING HAND OFF!"

* * *

 **Thanks for reading, let me know what you think :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**_Previously..._**

 _"I just fucking cut a kids hand off." Alec swore to himself, before looking up at everyone. "I JUST CUT A KIDS FUCKING HAND OFF!"_

"Alec, now isn't the time to freak out, you could have saved her life." Bella told him. He glared at her.

"What are you even here for?" He spat.

"Hey!" Edward said, glaring at his brother. "Don't take your shit out on her, she's right! You did it to save her life, it's better than nothing!"

"And what if it didn't work? Then what?" Alec growled, and then buried his head in his hands. Bella moved to his side, and stroked his hair.

"At least you tried." She said, softly. He grabbed her hand and enclosed it between both of his, and pressed it to his lips.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, tears still streaming from his eyes.

A loud bang echoed and made the RV rock. Bella jumped and looked at the door, and sure enough, Biters were pressed up against it, snarling and trying to claw their way in.

"B, get over here!" Emmett yelled. "Ed, you wanna drive us outta here?"

Bella quickly made her way back to Daisy, and Edward climbed into the front, starting the engine and drove away; effectively knocking over the Biters. The others followed closely behind them, and for that, Edward was thankful. He didn't think they had left anybody behind.

"We had to leave a lot of things back there." Carlisle said in a low voice as he saw to Daisy's arm. The small girl didn't make a noise, she was in shock, and for that Bella was thankful.

"We will need to go on a supply run." Bella murmured absentmindedly. Carlisle nodded.

"Okay, Daisy, can you hear me?" He asked, watching her reactions carefully.

"I didn't know you were a doctor." Emmett mused.

"For thirty years." He answered with a smile.

"That's handy." Bella said, watching Daisy with a worried expression.

"Alec made a clean cut." Carlisle reassured her. "She will be fine, as long as she isn't infected."

* * *

They drove for seven hours before Edward found another clearing and pulled up. Everyone followed suit and all came clambering out of their vehicles. Edward was glad Jess and Mike got to his RV and drove it for him.

"You stupid fuck!" Emmett growled and marched towards James.

"Emmett, slow down." Jasper warned, attempting to stand between the two men.

"You brought a whole fucking herd of Biters to camp! What were you thinking? We have children with us!"

"What the hell was I supposed to do, huh?" James asked, kicking the grass.

"Well if you had stayed with the group instead of going into the forest for a quick fuck, they would have passed right by!"

"Emmett, whose blood is that?" Alice asked with a small voice.

Emmett looked down at his clothes with a frown, and then looked over to the campervan, where Rosalie stood, her eyes red and swollen.

"Daisy got bit." He said loud enough for everybody to hear. "The kid got bit, because you guys are too fucking bothered about yourselves to help each other out!"

"What were we supposed to do, risk our lives for one girl?" James asked.

"That is exactly what you do." Bella yelled. "There are twenty two of us, we need to stop fighting at every turn and start working together!"

"We can't be expected to get ourselves killed for someone else's-" Ben started.

"What if it was Olivia?" Bella asked. "What if she got stuck with a Biter and you couldn't get to her? Would you want us to risk our lives for her?"

"Yes, we would." Angela answered from behind her husband. "I'm sorry nobody helped with Daisy." She looked toward Rosalie. "I am so, so sorry, Rose."

"Daisy is alive." Emmett said gruffly.

"What?" Rosalie exclaimed, moving quickly to Emmett. "Alec killed her, I saw-"

"Alec cut off her hand, to stop the infection from spreading." Emmett explained. Rosalie's eyes were wide, but she nodded.

"It worked?" She asked, her voice laced with hope.

"It's only been seven hours. She isn't showing any signs of infection yet, which is good news. We should find out within the next few hours if Alec and Emmett saved her." Carlisle told her.

"Can I see her?"

"Of course you can." Bella said, and gestured for Rosalie to follow her.

"There are twenty one of us." Rosalie told Bella as they entered the RV. Bella looked up at her questionably. "Victoria was ambushed by seven or eight of them. I shot three, but I was too late."

"At least you tried." Bella said, sadly.

"Thank you. For going back for Daisy. I saw you, you could have just left her, but you didn't."

"I couldn't have. I'm not wired that way." Bella shrugged.

Rosalie stopped dead when she saw her daughter, she was clearly surprised to see her all clean and patched up.

"Hi mommy." Daisy said with a lazy smile.

"She's had some strong painkillers." Bella explained Daisy's dreamy state.

Alec walked onto the RV and grabbed himself a bottle of water. He tried not to make eye contact with Rosalie, but she threw herself into his arms and thanked him profusely. He buried her head into her shoulder, as his own started to shake.

"You are everything, Alec Cullen." Rosalie said, her voice thick with tears. "You are my hero and I owe you my life."

Alec shook his head, and mumbled more apologies through his tears.

"Don't you ever apologise. My girl is strong, and she is alive because of your quick thinking."

"It's not set in stone." He mumbled, clearly embarrassed at his show of emotion.

"I believe that you have saved her. She looks good." She kissed the side of his face and sighed happily.

Bella left them on their own to talk, and went to find Alice.

She quickly found her, she was sat speaking to Lena, and decided to wait until she was finished.

"Bella?" Esme's motherly voice came from behind her.

"Hey Esme." She smiled at the woman she had come to see as a friend.

"I saw what you did, it was very brave. The whole time you were on your feet, you was looking around the camp, making sure everyone was safe. As soon as you saw someone who wasn't, you went straight to her."

"She was alone, it was what any-"

"Decent person would do? Her own father had given up on her. As soon as that thing bit into her, Royce dragged Rosalie into that campervan."

Bella didn't know what to say. She hadn't felt brave; she was scared out of her mind the entire time. She just wanted to cry for her daddy and curl up into his arms.

"Esme, Lena is asking for you." Carlisle interrupted. Bella frowned at his nervousness, and at Esme's blush that followed.

"Right of course." She said flustered.

Bella caught Edward's eye, who was laughing at the two of them. He rolled his eyes, playfully at them and she bit back a chuckle.

Carlisle and Esme quickly left and Edward took their place.

"That was subtle." Bella laughed at his words as she watched them scuttle off. "I don't even know why they are keeping it a secret, everybody knows." The playful look was gone from his eyes and he sounded bitter.

"You don't like Esme?"

"Esme is great." Edward replied wholeheartedly.

"Then what is it?" She nudged him with her shoulder and giggled. "You don't have feelings for Lena do you?"

He was silent.

 _Of course he does!_

"Oh." Bella whispered, looking down at her shoes.

"I don't." He amended, throwing his arm over her shoulder. "Alec does though."

 _Thank every god there is._

"That's sweet." She said, smiling.

"I thought you didn't like 'sweet' or 'romantic'." He laughed, but it seemed forced.

"It's not that I don't like it, it's just…" She looked at him and sighed. "It just doesn't end well if you get too attached."

"What about Emmett?"

"Emmett?"

"Aren't you guys like, together?" he asked, frowning at his own words.

 _Me and Emmett? No. Thanks._

"No." She said, unable to keep a straight face. "Emmett looks after me."

"So you guys just sleep together?" He asked and her eyes widened.

"No!" She cried, appalled. A blush covered her cheeks and Edward grinned. "He is just my friend. Why do you care?"

"I just do." He said simply. He watched her blush intensify and his grin turned into a genuine smile.

"Do you really thing Emmett would let me share a bed with you every night, if we were together?"

"Well, he could have just _really_ trusted you."

"Gross, I am way too young for him." She mumbled. Not that she wanted to be with him, but in Emmett's mind, Bella was just a child. He preferred his women older. Edward frowned at her words.

"Too young?" He said. "How old is Emmett?"

"Twenty five." She told him.

"Right." He muttered. "Seven years between you. That's-"

"Does it matter?" Bella asked sadly, knowing they were no longer talking about the age gap between her and _Emmett_. She felt the shift in Edward's body language and his mood.

"I think it does, sweetheart." He answered. He stayed seated beside her as her emotions played on her face.

She knew she liked him, she liked the way he looked. But she had no idea she had actual feelings for him until he reacted to her words about being too young. She didn't want to be too young for Edward. She didn't _feel_ too young for him. Tears burned her eyes and she turned her face away in frustration. Edward, who had already noticed the tears, pulled her into him and held her. She rested her head on his chest and she sighed.

 _Why is he always so warm?_

"Why don't you go wash up?" Edward's voice was hoarse as he spoke. "You might feel a little better before we get back on the road.

She nodded, standing up, and without looking at him, she walked away.

Just as she reached the door to the RV, Ben stopped her. He stood too close to her and glared.

"Is there a problem?" She asked, swallowing thickly.

"Not yet, but you should be careful. God is only punishing us with this plague, because of people like you." He growled, grabbing her arms and shaking her.

"Hey!" Alice yelled, coming to Bella's rescue. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Watch how you speak to me, girl, or one of these days you will find yourself as a Rotters chew toy." He said and then walked away as if nothing had happened.

"You okay, Bells?" Alice asked.

"Yeah." She said shakily. "What the hell is wrong with the men here?"

* * *

An hour later they were back on the road and Bella was sat next to Edward in the passenger seat, whilst Mike and Jess were playing cards in the back.

"You okay?" Edward asked, not looking at her.

"I really wish people would stop asking me that." She mumbled.

"I'm just worried about you." He replied, scratching his almost beard.

"Can we just change the subject? Please?"

"Sure." He remained silent for a few moments before he found a new subject. "What were you doing before all of this happened?"

"Um," She blushed slightly. "I was in school. Preparing for exams."

"School. Right." He cleared his throat.

"I was a sophmore." She could see he was uncomfortable so she asked him the same question.

"I was moving into a new house. I had just divorced my ex wife, and we were looking for a new place to live."

"We?" She watched as his jaw clenched. She instantly regretted asking.

"My daughter was coming with me." His whole body was stiff as he spoke, and Bella didn't know how to handle this sort of conversation.

"Why wasn't she staying with her mother? I mean, you don't have to tell me, if you don't want to. God knows it is none of my business."

"Tanya wasn't her mother." He told her, glaring out of the window. His hands were grasping the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles were turning white.

"What is your favourite colour?" She watched as relief flooded his features, and he smiled at her.

"Brown." He told her and laughed when she wrinkled her nose in distaste. "What?"

"Brown is so… It's like dirt." She giggled.

"What is _your_ favourite colour?"

"Green." She said without hesitation, but why did she say that? Her favourite colour, up until now, was blue. She knew that it was the shade of Edwards eyes that made her say green, as he had the most beautiful, emerald coloured eyes she had ever seen.

He chuckled at her, as if he knew her little secret, so she blushed.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.**


End file.
